Duchy of Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig (Danish: Hertugdømmet Slesvig; German: Herzogtum Schleswig; Low German: Hartogdom Sleswig; North Frisian: Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland) covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany. The region is also called Sleswick in English.
Duchy of Schleswig | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1058–1866 | |||||||||
| Status | Fiefdom of the Danish Crown (partly between 1544 and 1713/20) | ||||||||
| Capital | Schleswig, Flensburg, Copenhagen | ||||||||
| Common languages | Danish, German, Low German, North Frisian | ||||||||
| Religion | Catholicism, Lutheranism and Mennonitism (from 16th century), Judaism | ||||||||
| Government | Feudal Duchy, Monarchy | ||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||
• 1058–1095 | Olaf I of Denmark | ||||||||
• 1863–66 | Christian IX of Denmark | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1058 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1866 | ||||||||
| Currency | Schleswig-Holstein speciethaler, Danish rigsdaler, Pfennig | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Denmark Germany | ||||||||
Unlike Holstein and Lauenburg, Schleswig was never a part of the German Confederation. Schleswig was instead a fief of Denmark, and its inhabitants spoke Danish, German, and North Frisian. Both Danish and German National Liberals wanted Schleswig to be part of a Danish or German national state in the 19th century. A German uprising in March 1848 caused the First Schleswig War which ended in 1852. The Second Schleswig War (1864) ended with the three duchies being governed jointly by Austria and Prussia. In 1866, they became a part of Prussia.